A life in a photobooth.

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Monthly Archives: November 2015

Jacques, the aspiring actor, had a pretty mean hairdo and moustache. I wonder if this was perceived as cool and rebellious in 1960s France? I imagine him being cast as the cool younger side-kick of some streetwise old con man. Or as a jazz musician. Both generally had the same unsalutary reputations, so either/or will do.

This is another one of a series of file cards I have from a Parisian acting agency. The photos in the series are mostly from the 60s. Each card shows an actor in their best actory/actorish pose. Most show the applicant’s address and telephone number. The back of this card is totally blank, so one wonders if Jacques ever inquired why he never got any work?

None of the actors, in the cards I procured, ever made it big in the acting profession. The ones that did, were too expensive for me to buy!

There are some more great photos in this series, so keep watching for more updates!

This little girl’s name is Arline Michlinger. The above photos were taken in the USA on the 10th of January 1938 (top row) and on the 21st of January (bottom row). At the time, Shirley Temple, probably still the most recognisable child star of all time, was at the height of her fame.

There is something about the practiced poses of this young lady that suggests to me that her mother may have had ambitions for her daughter to be a baby star like Shirley. The pose with hands clasped under the chin is very reminiscent of Shirley (see photo below), as is the one with the cheeky sideways glance.

Here is the same little girl posing with her mama, who is as equally relaxed in front of the camera as her daughter. They were also taken in 1938, but on the 25th of May. These are the first hand coloured photobooth photos I…

Like this:

Back living and working in the UK, I spent as much time with old friends as I could, despite the fact I was in Leicestershire and they were mostly in London. Rosie and her then boyfriend (now husband and father of their one year old baby) came to visit and we snapped this strip of photos at Leicester Station just before a day out together. To see more photos of Rosie when she was younger, please click here.

This strip of photos comes from my series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here. I am still adding to this project using mostly digital booths to create the images.

This is one of a series of file cards from a Parisian acting agency. The photos in the series are all from the 1960s. Each card shows a young actor in their best Hollywood pose (à la française, bien sûr!!), along with their address and telephone number. The back of this card shows Helene’s height in metres (1.66), the year of her birth (1924) and GRC. I have no idea what that could stand for. Anyone out there have an idea? For some reason it also needed to state that she is blonde. Oh, really?

None of the actors, in the cards I procured, ever made it in the acting profession. The ones that did, were too expensive for me to buy!

There are some great photos in this series, so stay tuned to Photobooth Journal for more updates!

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